Warner Brothers is turning 100! In April of 2023, WB turns the big 1-0-0, and they’ve got a commemorative logo to put them all to shame. The animated logo features the WB shield mark that we all know so well, and a stylized “100” that acts as a backdrop, foil, and plot point to a host of WB favorites over the years. There are appearances from Batman, Wyle E. Coyote, Harry Potter, Bugs Bunny…the list is lengthy! Congrats to WB for the milestone, and cheers to celebrating with great design!
Grocery shopping can be overwhelming, there are so many choices, and it can be hard to weed through them. Imagine trying to do that if you were visually impaired! One of the most overwhelming aisles is undoubtedly the cereal aisle, and Kellogg’s has decided to take steps with their packaging to make it easier for shoppers with visual impairment to select their products. The cereal company is working with NaviLens, a tech company that makes adaptive technology, to add something called “ddTags” to their packaging. These tags can be read by smartphones, much like a QR code, and can contain all kinds of helpful information, like audio or vibration cues to help users with wayfinding and orientation. In this particular case, the ddTag will provide all of the nutritional information, allergens, and any other important information about the product, using the preferred accessibility features of the user. What’s more, the company plans to install this technology at their HQ by the end of 2023, to make their campus more accessible to all employees as well!
If you’ve ever wanted to own a little bit of Twitter, well now is your chance. And Twitter has great taste! In furniture, at any rate. Elon Musk seems to be thinking he’ll completely refurnish the Twitter HQ to mark the new ownership, and that means everything that’s already in there has to go. The sale officially starts January 18, but you can go and check out the goods: Eames chairs, fancy espresso machine, even giant Twitter birds are all up for grabs.
It is somehow basically already 2023. While you take a minute to think on that, check out Adobe’s predictions for creative trends in 2023. Some, like nostalgia and retro heavy designs, are no surprise, those have been on the horizon for a while. Adobe predicts that coming out of the heavy pandemic years, design is going to take some dreamy departures from reality and push the envelope towards surrealism. Look for metaphysical and spiritual influences, and most of all: authenticity. If you want to make sure your brand is up to date with these upcoming trends, KEYLAY Design would love to be your partner!
Over the past few years, the relationship between employers and employees has been rocky. Seven out of ten employees want their companies to do more to engage and treat them fairly. They want to be seen as more than a number and be recognized as the unique, whole individuals they are.
Because of this, more and more workers are becoming disengaged. Each year, businesses lose trillions of dollars in productivity because of a lack of employee motivation. Since 2020, many workers have left their industries or changed professions because they sought better treatment than they were getting.
But surveys have shown that employees are more likely to stay with the organization and feel increased job satisfaction when they receive positive encouragement and acknowledgment.
In our experience working on and creating design campaigns for organizations, we’ve observed a few businesses that use design to give their employees the recognition they deserve. They’re humanizing the relationship between themselves and their most valuable asset—their team.
Showing the reality of employees & supply chain contractors
Whether you’re selling physical products or producing digital applications, their creation doesn’t happen in a bubble. Tens, hundreds, and sometimes thousands of people can be involved in developing, producing, and delivering a product. Since the pace of production is usually lightning-fast, it’s easy to forget how these people contribute to the final result consumers receive.
Each page gives an inside look at the impact of their environmental and labor practices over the past decade. They created infographics simplifying all of this information into an understandable, digestible format.
But this document shines in how it discusses the delicate balance between businesses and contractors. Apple’s report uses case studies to show how the actions of employees and contractors in their supply chain align with their own values. And when a supplier’s procedures conflict with Apple’s principles, the company addresses them directly.
In one case, when searching for a new supplier, Apple discovered that one of their candidates had some unusual labor practices. The supplier’s contract workers paid recruitment fees to them. This custom was common in this part of the world but prohibited within Apple’s organization because it is essentially a “pay to play” scheme.
In an effort to protect workers’ rights, Apple told the supplier to end the policy if they wanted to work with them. Even though paying to work for a supplier was commonplace in the country, Apple used its influence to end this exploitative practice.
Apple could’ve ignored this entire situation and allowed it to continue, which would’ve affected thousands of workers. However, they chose to tackle it head-on and do what they could to acknowledge these workers, using this report to talk about it.
Showcasing local suppliers and mentoring initiatives
The Northeast grocery chain Wegmans website is a testament to their fondness and respect for their employees, who are considered “family.” Once you dive into their bright, welcoming site, they highlight the local suppliers that provide healthy, affordable food to the community. These are shown on the site as partnership pages, which display how each business benefits the other.
The supermarket chain does more than provide food to local residents. They encourage their employees to follow their passions while at the same time giving them the space to do it. The company focuses on what its diverse team brings to the table, including the story of mentorship, integrity, and career growth.
Demonstrate how much your business values its workers
Employees have more choices when deciding where to work, especially after two years of global upheaval. Companies that pay attention to the needs of their workers and communicate how much they value them find it easier to retain these essential employees.
Your website, internal communications, and external advertising are all places where it makes sense to show your love for employees. Vivid lifestyle imagery and exciting graphics add to the stories you share about your company’s workers. And those tales are what make people feel appreciated by the organization and that their work matters.
To the sufferers of Long Covid, the symptoms seem to stretch on interminably, and that’s exactly the feeling The Leith Agency tried to capture with their new campaign for CovidAid: the Longest Ad. The ad consists of an essay written by a Long Covid patient that details the struggles of her day, and it’s printed in a seriously long format to hammer the point home: it’s so long that the ad actually spills out onto the pavement. The campaign strives to bring awareness to just how much of a struggle Long Covid brings to those unlucky enough to be afflicted, and illustrate how much more research needs to be done to help provide relief to sufferers.
